Aida

Set against the magnificent backdrop of Lake Constance, every production
at the Bregenz Festival faces strong natural competitors. But with this
first-ever production of Verdi's "Aida" (in an abridged version) on the
lakeside stage, it is easy to overlook the beauty of the surrounding
nature. Stage director Graham Vick and set designer Paul Brown conjure
up an "open-air spectacle of superlatives" (Die Zeit) that throws a
bridge between ancient Egypt and today's U.S.
The stage effects are stunning: ruins of the Statue of Liberty pieced
together with the help of giant cranes, boats carrying priestesses and
prisoners - parts of the opera even take place in the lake itself! And in
the Grand March - one of the most famous marches in opera - a golden
elephant comes sailing into view on a barge¿
Under Carlo Rizzi (conductor of "La Traviata" with Netrebko and Villazón,
available from UNITEL), the Wiener Symphoniker brilliantly support the
chorus and soloists, among whom Iano Tamar (Amneris) and Tatiana Serjan
(Aida) stand out. Drawing capacity crowds of over 200,000 spectators in
just one season, "Aida" is the festival's most successful opera to date,
even more successful than the "Tosca" production, which has been
immortalized in the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace".

Composer:	Giuseppe Verdi
Title:	Aida
Conductor:	Carlo Rizzi
Staged By:	Graham Vick
Soloist:	Tatiana Serjan, Rubens Pelizzari, Iano Tamar, Kevin Short, Tigran Martirossian, Ian Paterson
Set:	Paul Brown
Orchestra:	Wiener Symphoniker
Chorus:	The Katowice City Singers' Ensemble "Camerata Silesia", Polish Radio Choir Krakow, Bregenzer Festspielchor
Choreography:	Ron Howell
Video Director:	Felix Breisach
Genre:	Opera
Length:	131 minutes
Cat.No.:	A04001520